The Enabling Technologies, Challenges, and Future Trends of DSP in Coherent Optical Communications

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the global digital wave, optical fiber communication serves as a core underpinning for the development of big data, artificial intelligence and other key fields. Among various optical transmission technologies, coherent optical communication systems play an indispensable role in long-haul information transmission. Yet such systems are prone to various transmission impairments in practical application. It thus creates an urgent demand for highly efficient and intelligent digital signal processing (DSP) systems. Many studies have optimized DSP architecture and generality, but few give a systematic summary of DSP technologies, problems, and trends in optical fiber communication. This paper reviews DSP in coherent optical communication systems. It introduces the system structure, signal impairments, and the role of DSP. It also summarizes DSP applications at the transmitter, receiver, and intelligent adaptive control. This review fills the research gap in DSP in optical fiber communication. It provides useful references for the optimization and innovation of DSP technologies. It also offers specific guidance for improving the performance of coherent optical communication systems.